Apparatus for positioning strip



April 15, 1952 E. T. LORIG APPARATUS FOR-POSITIONING STRIPS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed June 4, 1949 INVENTOR. I EDWIN T. Lone ATTORN EY Patented -Apr. 1 5, 1 95 2 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- APPARATUS FbR POSITIONING STRIP Edwin T. Lorig, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to United States Steel Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application June 4, 1949, Serial No. 97,218

6 Claims. (Cl. 2712.6)

to approach the roll at an angle which also causes the strip to move across the face of the roil. In order to keep the strip in the desired path of travel, various expedients have been resorted to. One of the most common is the use .of stationaryor rotatable side guides against which the edges of the strip bear. In some instances side-guides have been used in conjunctionwith looper pitsto force the strip back on the desired center line. Abnormally high strip ten- Ision has also been used in an attempt to keep 7 the workpiecealigned. The workpiece has also .been periodically slipped or slewed back into the approximate proper position on the roll.

,All of the above methods of centering strip tend to abrade and mutilate the strip edges and in some instances cause the edges of the strip to' be stretched beyond the elastic limit of the metal.-

Diagonal or lateral surface scratches are also formed on-finely finished flat products of. all kinds, these scratches being detrimental to subsequent operations and together with edge damagecauses'scraping of a largepercentageof the material being processed. The same problem also exists in belt conveyors and belts used in conjunction with belt pullies. If the belt is made of rubber or other relatively soft material, it is more easily damaged. In addition to the methods of aligning strip mentioned above, crown rolls have been used to center materials having a low modulus of elasticity such as textiles,

rubber and composition belts. g

The above problem of centering and aligning also exists in conjunction withrotatably supporting coils of stripas the strip equipment.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide apparatus for automatically centering movis-fed to processing ing objects, such as strip, without damage there- These and other objects will be more apparent after referring to the following description and attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of one specific embodiment of my device taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line II--II of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line III-III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a schematic view, partly in section,

showing a second embodiment of my invention;

Figure 5 is a schematic view showing a third embodiment of my invention; I

Figure 6 is a schematic view showing a fourth embodiment of my invention;

Figure '7 is an end view of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a schematic view showing a fifth embodiment of my invention; and

Figure 9 is an end view of Figure 8.

Referring more particularly to the drawing the reference numerals 2 and 4 relate to a pair of proposed rotatable rolls which take the place of the rolls commonly used in processing lines or in conjunction with belt conveyors or the like. The strip or strip-like material S passes over the rolls in the direction shown by the arrows. I have found that by arranging theserolls at an angle to one another with their, axes of rotation intersecting at a point A between the rolls, and diverging away from the direction of strip approach to the rolls that the center line of the strip willbe maintained on the center line between the rolls. Furthermore, if the strip is originally off-center it will be quickly centered. The angle 6 between the center lines may be as small as 0 degrees 5 minutes (0 5'). While cylindrical rolls may be used I have found thatthe centering effect is increased by the use of frusto-conical rolls, as shown. The rolls may be constructed of any suitable material and may be coated with rubber or other plastic material,

if desired. 4

As shown in Figure l, the rolls 2 and 4 are mounted on a bent fixed shaft 8 which is mounted in a housing I 0. The rolls 2 and 4 are provided with bushings or bearings l2 and I4 attached thereto by a press fit. The bushings l2 and i4 may be replaced by roller bearings, but in either event the bearings will be supportedon the shaft 8. Thrust on the rolls is taken by surfaces I8 on the housing Ill. If it is desired to positively drive the rolls, an extension 20 connected to'the right hand bushing 12, is provided. It is also necessary that the rolls 2 and 4 rotate in unison.

For this purpose, theadjacent ends of the rolls are provided with grooves 22 for receiving a resilient gasket 24 made of rubber, neoprene, or other resilient material. This gasket acts as a coupling between the two rolls to synchronize their speed and also acts as a seal. Synchronization can be secured by friction alone or by providing a plurality of pins 26 having one end ex tending into holes 28 in the gasketl. The other ends of the pins are screwed into rolls 2 and 4 alternately. If desired for certain applications,-

the rolls 2 and 4 can be made integral of rubber or other resilient material. Insuch case the cen ter of the roll would flex as it revolves. This construction is in effect the same asthat described above and the term opposed rotatable rolls as used in the specification and claims is to be construed as including such a construction.

As shown in Figure 2,.the strip S may lead onto the centering rolls. anywhere between points 30 and32 and leave the centering roll any place between points'3'4 and 35. In other instances there will be only line contact between the rolls and the object passing thereover.

Figure 3 shows the position of the strip S in broken lines centered on the rolls 2 and 4while an off-center position is shown in solid lines. The shaded area BCDE shows the portion of the strip S contacting the rolls 2 and 4 when it is off-center on the rolls and the shaded area B'C'D'E" shows the portion of the strip Scont'a'cting therollswhen' it is on-center.

Figure 4 shows a slightly different modification of my inventionin which a pair of conical mile 38 is provided with rotatable shafts 45 mounted in a fixed housing 42. The adjacent ends of the rolls are provided with hemispherical 'opcnings' i l-for receiving a sphere it which assists in maintaininga-l-ignment' of tlieroll's and also synchronizes the speed thereof; The arrangement of rolls iifi'is otherwise the same uniform diameter throughout their breadth; but

may have a very slight taper which case the included angle -2 between the axes of rotation of the rolls: is slightly greater than the included angle 54Ibetween the f-ace's of the rolls. Asshown inlFigure-7, the strip 8' contacts the roll between points iitr'and 53; Figures 8"and'9 disclose another embodiment of my invention which may be used in conjunction' with a belt conveyor. In this embodiment the. rolls: 6.0 have a slightly curved face and are drivenv in' synchrcnism in: any suitable. manner. The. rolls. are mounted on:a. fixed non-rotatable shaftBZ. The includedanglefie between the axis of rotationlis preferably greater than the mean included angu'larity 660i the two rolls 6i).

While several embodiments of. my invention havef been shown and described, it is apparent that other adaptations and modifications maybe 4 made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for automatically centering a moving object comprising a pair of fixed spaced apart bearings, a shaft mounted in each of said bearings and extendingmtoward the other bearing; said shafts being arranged at an angle to one another with their axes intersecting at a point between the bearings and diverging away from the direction of approach of the object, the axes of said shafts being arranged at an angle-to a plane parallel to the path of movement of theobject, a pair of opposed rotatable rolls over which-the object passes one mounted on each shaft, and a connection between said rolls for positively causing them to rotate at the same angular velocity.

2. Apparatus for automatically centering a moving object according to claim 1 in which the rolls are frusto-conical with the large diameter ends thereof being adjacent each other.

3: Apparatus for automatically centering a moving object comprising a pair of fixed spaced apart bearings, a shaft mounted in each of said bearings and extending toward the other bearing, said shafts being arranged at an angle to one another with their axes intersecting at a point between the bearings and diverging away fromthe direction of approach of the object, the axes of said shafts being arranged at an angle to a plane parallel to the path of movement of the object, a pair of opposed rotatable rolls over which the object passes one mounted on each shaft, and a connector extending between the adjacent end' of the rolls to positively cause them to rotate at'the-same angular velocity.

4. Apparatus for automatically centering a moving object according to claim 3' in which the rolls are frusto-oonical with the large diameter ends thereof being adjacent-each other;

5. Apparatus for automatically centering a moving object comprising a pair of fixed spaced apartbearings, a shaft mounted in each of said bearings and extending toward theother hearing, said shafts being arranged at an'angle toone another with their axes intersecting at a point between the bearings and diverging away from thedirection of approach of the object, the axes of said shafts being arranged at an angle to a plane parallel to the path of movement of the object, a pair of opposed rolls over' which the object passes one rotatably' mounted on each shaft, and: a connector extending between the adjacent end of'the rolls to positively cause them to rotate at the same angular'velocity.

6. Apparatus for automatically centering a moving'object according to claim 5 in which the rolls are frusto-conical with the large diameter ends thereof being adjacent each'other.

EDWIN T. LORIG.

REFERENCES CIT-ED The following references are of record in the 

